Thanks for Email from Pat Craddock

Hi
thank you all for your emails. It gives us courage to continue as sometimes
we get very down and think there will be no end to the stress and the
tension. Please keep them coming in.
As I write this we are awaiting a press release from the Great Council of
Chiefs. Once again today has been stressful and it appears that overseas
media are getting better coverage that what we are as local journalists are
not permitted into the compound. Most people I talk to find it difficult to
settle to anything, myself included. we are getting rather depressed and
swing from wanting to be with other people, to wanting to be by ourselves.
Those who have gone to work and finding it difficult to work and those who
cannot go to work for various reasons are filling in the days by wandering
round their houses flitting from radio to TV to book to newspaper to keep
themselves informed and yet not wanting to hear any more news as it is often
confusing and sometimes not very clear on what is happening. Compounding the
problem are people who are deliberately giving out misinformation and
misinformation in order to incite people are to cause mayhem. Although the
coup is basically about Fijian rights and Fijian pitted against Fijian, new
style Fijian against traditional Fijian the Indo-Fijian community are
suffering the effects of the frustration as their homes are the targets of
stones and sticks and during the night some people are knowing on the tin
walls of their very modest homes saying they are going to rape and murder
the inhabitants. These are the stories that do not get into the newspaper.
One friend today caught a taxi to bring home her groceries. As she was
delivered to her destination in a most dangerous manner the taxi driver told
her to get out immediately and not bother him with her presence. She is an
Indian woman who has done a lot for the country and is well known in sports
circles was very humiliated and now feels very fragile. She already was very
anxious about appearing on the streets on her own. IT is this type of
violence that we are finding very difficult to cope with.